Clerk Balks At Mecca Payment

Official Questions Why County Is Paying To Clear Citrus Grove

July 28, 2004|By Cadence Mertz and Patty Pensa Staff Writer

Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Wilken on Tuesday refused to cut a $1.4 million check to pay Palm Beach County's tab for clearing orange trees from the planned home of Scripps Florida until county commissioners explain why they think the money is for a public purpose.

The county holds a contract to buy Mecca Farms for the project but doesn't own it yet, Wilken wrote Tuesday in a letter to county commissioners. Additionally, she wrote, the county is considering whether to move the planned biotech research park from the orange grove.

She will not issue the check until she gets clarification, she wrote. The money is due at the end of the week, Wilken said.

"This is a case where I'm confused and not clear on what the public purpose of putting $1.4 million in the bank of Mecca Farm owners is if the board doesn't intend to purchase the property," Wilken said Tuesday. "They've stated a public purpose for Scripps and a lot of other things, but what they've done with the alternate site review is confusing."

County Administrator Bob Weisman responded to Wilken with a two-page memo outlining the County Commission's scrutiny of the expense at a meeting last week and stating that the county could buy the land to resell even if it moves the Scripps project. Wilken remained unmoved, saying commissioners may need to hold a special meeting to address the issue.

County Commission Chairwoman Karen Marcus said Tuesday that the county already has set aside the money to pay the bill. The disagreement should not hold up the project, Marcus said.

"We have a binding contract, a legal contract with Mecca," she said.

Mecca Farms general counsel Gary Smigiel could not be reached Tuesday. His secretary said the company would not comment on Scripps-related matters.

The county's contract with Mecca Farms agrees the county will pay to clear the grove to ready it for construction. Plans call for the property to house the East Coast headquarters of The Scripps Research Institute and a related biotechnology research park.

The $1.4 million in question is for cutting and removing 930 acres of orange trees -- $1,500 an acre. The property's southern acreage where the trees once stood is now bare earth dotted with burning brush piles.

Wilken has authority to question county spending, even if county commissioners have approved the expense, Assistant County Attorney Paul King said. The circuit court clerk plays the role of an auditor, releasing money only in the interest of the public, County Attorney Denise Nieman said.

The county, however, repeatedly has established the public purpose of the Scripps-anchored biotech community, Nieman said. Wilken can't make a decision on what is or is not public purpose on her own, Nieman said.

"Everything they've been talking about with Scripps is for a public purpose," she said. "They've already made that determination. That's not for her to make."

Wilken said she is not second-guessing the county. The commissioners' decision to search for alternatives to Mecca Farms as the site of Scripps Florida threw into question the county's intentions for the orange grove, Wilken said.

"I would have to ask why we are going to look at alternative sites," Wilken said. "The commission has pretty well indicated they have an open mind, but I'm not sure, if they have a contract, what their mind is."

She said she is not getting involved in the debate over Scripps, or commenting on the project, but is simply carrying out the duties of her office.

In the past, Wilken's questions have changed how the county spends money, King said.

When she questioned the purchase of fitness equipment by the utilities department, the fire and rescue squads took the equipment instead, King said. When she questioned why the county should foot the bill for a barbecue in Tallahassee, private sponsors stepped in and have paid for the event ever since, King said.

"Let's just say it adds to the stress we're going through right now," Weisman said of Wilken's balking on the check.

Cadence Mertz can be reached at camertz@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6611.